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Advances Against Aspergillosis (AAA)
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21st ECCMID conference
 The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases conference (website) is one of the largest conferences we cover, attended by 8500 experts. This year it took place in collaboration with the International Congress for Chemotherapy (ICC) annual conference on the 7-10th May in Milan, Italy and we have added all of the abstracts to our database.
Medical journal 'The Lancet' reviewed the conference and highlighted the discussion on the use of antifungals, in particular azole resistance conferred by the cyp51A mutation and the possible influence of the use of azoles in agriculture in supporting the generation of resistant strains.
If you weren't able to attend the meeting many of the talks have been recorded and made available online for viewing by the general public. Relevant examples include:
- Keynote lecture:
- Educational workshops including:
- Sensitisation to fungi: allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) by T. Welte (Hannover, DE)
- Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis - therapeutic options by W. Hope (Manchester, UK)
Antifungal stewardship for Aspergillus
by M. Richardson (Manchester, UK)
Latest News and ArticlesDrug interactions
We have launched a new lookup service for patients using five antifungal drugs (Itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, micafungin & caspofungin). Patient can enter the generic names of the drugs they are taking to find out if they have any known interaction with one of these antifungals. More antifungals will be added over the next few months.
 The Fungal Research Trust is 20 years old this year and has celebrated with a meeting for researchers and patients at the Medical Society of London (close to Oxford Circus Underground Station) on the 18th June 2011. There was a patients meeting in the afternoon. Full program is available here.
Selected articles: (71 new articles added, 63 full articles of which 11 are reviews)
Automated Image Analysis of the Host-Pathogen Interaction between Phagocytes and Aspergillus fumigatus
Experiments to observe how conidia interact with elements of the immune system (e.g. macrophages) and how the immune system cells react are powerful tools which help us understand how our bodies fight infection on a cellular level.
Unfortunately this is a slow process when done manually, but this paper describes an attempt to automate the recording of the outcome.
Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and omalizumab
This study aims to reduce or eliminate the use of system steroid therapy for ABPA in 16 patients (none cystic fibrosis) by the administration of omalizumab. All patients in the study managed to reduce use of steroids and exacerbations.
The authors call for a double blind study to further test the effectiveness of omalizumab.
Serum galactomannan strongly correlates with outcome of invasive aspergillosis in acute leukaemia patients
Further support for the use of GM as a surrogate marker for assessing outcome in invasive aspergillosis patients with haematological cancers.
Current issues in the clinical management of invasive aspergillosis - the AGIHO, DMykG, ÖGMM and PEG web-based survey and expert consensus conference 2009
Using a recently published two-step approach - web-based survey plus classical panel discussion - expert consensus was achieved on 10 of 12 questions concerning the diagnosis and treatment of invasive aspergillosis.
Reviews
Genetic susceptibility to Aspergillus fumigatus infections
A growing number of genes are being described
that effect the immune response of the host to Aspergillus infection, rendering it susceptible. This review summarised the current knowledge about genetic markers that correlate with A. fumigatus infection and discusses their relevance to outcome.
On the way toward systems biology of Aspergillus fumigatus infection
The course of infection by Aspergillus fumigatus is a complex process involving the differential expression of multiple genes and their products. Genes regulate other genes, feedback processes operate to respond to changing conditions for growth and so on to form an intimately linked network of metabolic activity. Systems biology attempts to incorporate all gene expression data in response to given stimuli into one linked model that can be analysed as a whole.
This hugely ambitious task is now being attempted for A. fumigatus pathogenicity.
Laboratory Protocols
We are always looking for more for our collection - please send your suggestions here
Conferences - coming up
Call for abstracts: 5th Advances Against Aspergillosis 26-28 January 2012 Istanbul, Turkey -
Abstracts deadline September 27 2011.
3rd Asia Pacific Conference of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 8-11 July 2011, Hong Kong
Many more here...
Notes & slides from the latest Aspergillosis Patients meeting at the National Aspergillosis Centre (NAC) are available to watch here.
The talk was given by Nigel Clayton of the Lung Function test facility at the North West Lung Centre, Wythenshawe Hospital, University Hospital of South Manchester, UK.
Aspergillus Association of America
 This US charity has has many similar aims to ourselves in the fight against aspergillosis and we are both hoping for closer collaboration in the future, but for now they are holding two fundraising 'events' that are well worth supporting:
- A one day, 192 mile bicycle journey from Derby Line, Vermont to Guilford, Vermont on June 21st! Good luck Todd!
- A fundraising cookbook consisting of many recipes donated by friends, costing $15 apiece
To offer support or buy a cookbook you should go to https://aspergillusassociation.org/Fundraising.html where you can offer payment via PayPal and if you are a US taxpayer it will be tax-deductible.
Himalayan 100 mile stage race
Lewis Fraser & Aaron McKevitt are to run one of the most demanding events in the world in aid of the Fungal Research Trust. The Himalayan Challenge (http://www.everestendurance.co.uk/) involves running 100 miles in 5 days at altitude and finishing 5000 feet higher than the start! This astonishing feat of endurance is in memory of Steph Smith who died tragically from an acute aspergillosis infection nearly 2 years ago.
Lewis was Steph's partner and his story has recently featured in our blog. Read of his arduous preparation runs here.
Please donate in memory of Steph and in appreciation of this huge effort by Lewis & Aaron.
£3, 586 donated already - many thanks to everyone who contributed.
Coming soon
An eBay auction for a VIP day with the RAF's premier display team, the Red Arrows in aid of the Fungal Research Trust.
Keep an eye on Lewis' blog and the FRT website.
Fungal Research Trust 20th Anniversary
The Fungal Research Trust has held a second meeting for patients outside of Manchester in London on 18th June 2011. Full details. Full report next month.
A patient volunteer is making & selling handmade cards for birthdays in aid of the Fungal Research Trust. 6 cards for £6 and 75% of that goes to the FRT. Order here.
Jobs
One job is currently being advertised:
- Clinical Research Fellow (Translational Medicine) , University of Manchester, UK. Closing date 30th June 2011
Advertise your vacancy free of charge on the Aspergillus Website here. *Optional donation to the Fungal Research Trust to cover costs incurred in providing this newsletter.
Courses and Workshops
We keep a listing of courses and workshops including 'one off' events and courses that repeat regularly. Course subjects are wide ranging and include medical mycology, lab ID, young scientists symposia and much more. Those coming up next are:
- 10th ESCMID Summer School 2-9 July, Treviso, Italy Link
- Molecular Mycology: Current Approaches to Fungal Pathogenesis, 3-19 August, The Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA Link
If you know of a course that should be added to this list please add it by contacting us here
Veterinary
NewsBites: Easy to Mistake Bipolaris Infection for Aspergillosis
NB Vets in the UK in need of assistance with acquiring antifungals please contact us here
Blog
NewsBites
Easy to Mistake Bipolaris Infection for Aspergillosis
Endotoxin Impairs Excretion of Antifungal Drug, Micafungin
An Attempt to Distinguish Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis (IPA) and Pulmonary Lymphoma (PL)
Patients' Mobiles Phones carry Aspergillus & Other Pathogens
Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis increasingly associated with Hepatitis B infection
Peking University devises Rapid Test for Fungi in Sinusitis
Blogs
Latest Books
NB Use these links to support the Fungal Research Trust
Latest Theses
Dynamic responses of the fungal cell wall to stress and antifungal treatment by Louise Walker, Aberdeen University, 2010
NB Links to theses require library membership.
Technical Tips
Our discussion group (email and/or website) designed to promote discussion on technical issues for laboratory workers.
Searching for Aspergillus Information
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You can now receive notification of updates to the Aspergillus Website on your mobile phone via SMS texting free of charge. Go to http://twitter.com/AspergillusWeb and open a Twitter account. Follow AspergillusWeb. 105 already follow AspergillusWeb.
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Facebook Causes
The Fungal Research Trust have a Facebook Causes page. Give your support to the cause here.
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Join the Aspergillus & Aspergillosis group to get in touch and keep in touch with your professional colleagues working in this field. All free of charge.
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